


Cuddle Up to Me

by leighbot



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Gen or Pre-Slash, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-05
Updated: 2014-12-05
Packaged: 2018-02-28 06:05:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2721518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leighbot/pseuds/leighbot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam accidentally hurts Louis when they have a snowball fight. Louis thinks cuddles will make him better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cuddle Up to Me

**Author's Note:**

> Day four prompt: snowball fight. Liam has the barest hint of "feels" in this, it's pretty gen.
> 
> It still counts as day four if I haven't fallen asleep yet, right?
> 
> Takes place in 'somewhat reality', where the five boys were on X-Factor and are recording music together. I bent the time line to allow for snow.

Finding time during their recording sessions to actually enjoy the outdoors was something that was getting increasingly more difficult to do. Liam wasn’t used to being stuck inside all day and living his dream with lads that were increasingly becoming his friends- even Louis, though that was always precarious- was not enough to make up for the lack of fresh air in his lungs. His morning runs were short, fast and indoors on the provided treadmill. Harry sometimes joined him but didn’t match his pace, and he was growing frustrated. He missed putting in his headphones and feeling his feet pound the actual pavement.

When he woke up Saturday morning- their first day off in almost a fortnight- he groaned at the sight of a thick blanket of snow on the ground.

“It never snows this much,” he complained as he entered his kitchen, knowing from previous mornings that Zayn and Niall would already be there making breakfast. Zayn grumbled along with him, tucked into a too-large jumper and track pants. Niall shrugged and grabbed a slice of toast, and Liam wondered- not for the first time- how Niall was so affable, never seeming to get bothered by inconveniences.

He resigned himself to using the gym again, trying to remember to be grateful for the opportunity he had and weighing the pros of pavement running to the cons of not being able to create music. He was just pulling on his trainers when there was frantic knocking on the door as it swung open, Louis and Harry stumbling inside.

“Lads! Payno! It’s _snowing_!” Louis cheered. He was dressed in a thick jumper and khaki trousers.

Liam narrowed his eyes. Louis was _never_ dressed before eight in the morning. He laced his boots up before standing and meeting Louis’ eyes, ignoring the feeling that they were somehow mocking him even before he’d said anything.

“Come have a snowball fight with me boys,” Louis begged, grabbing Liam’s elbow and pulling him into the dining area. Zayn was already shaking his head and Harry was looking doubtful.

“I don’t know, Lou,” he began, his slow drawl tiring in the early hour. “Doesn’t look like there’s enough to make snowballs with.”

Ignoring Niall’s snicker ( _“balls"_ ), Louis turned to Liam. “Whaddya say Payno? Wanna put those arms to good use? I bet I can out-dodge you.”

Liam pursed his lips before he could readily agree. He had fallen into a friendship with Zayn so quickly, the other boy understanding and relating to his quiet nature and knowing to coax him out slowly. Niall and Harry were just easy to spend time with, neither of them sizing Liam up all the time or making him feel inferior. Louis, though, was always speaking to Liam with an edge in his voice that he didn’t have with anyone else. Liam had originally thought it was dislike, but he was growing to understand that there was something about him Louis couldn’t figure out. For all that Louis spoke innocently, his words were pointed in an effort to get Liam to accept his challenge. It was as if he was going to continue to push and poke at Liam until he’d one day throw up his hands and give up, declaring Louis the winner in their bizarre war.

Liam wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. He grabbed his gloves from the stand next to his door and turned around. “Sure, Tommo. Let’s go.”

If Louis was surprised, he didn’t show it. He called out a goodbye and snarky comment to the boys staying behind, foregoing the elevator to stomp down the stairs ahead of Liam. Liam let him get a half-floor lead before powering past him, the both of them breathless as they stormed into the small courtyard behind their building.

There was just past an inch on the ground already and there were two families in the corner, making small snowmen. Louis just led them to the opposite corner, bending down to scoop up a handful of snow before turning and throwing it in Liam’s face.

“Cheat rascal bastard,” Liam laughed out, bending down himself and rolling a small ball quickly. He didn’t have time to stand before Louis was over him, shoving a handful down the back of his shirt. Liam shouted at the shocking sensation and threw his puny snowball at Louis in retaliation.

Soon they were both pink-cheeked from the cold and breathless with laughter. Liam found himself enjoying the crisp, dry air outside, running around the corner of the building both to avoid Louis’ excellent aim and to find more snow. He saw a small drift against the wall and grabbed a handful, rolling his largest snowball yet. He waited as he heard Louis approach- the crunch of his shoes against the snow and hard grass a sure tell. As Louis turned the corner with his arm up, ready to throw, Liam lobbed his as hard as he could, laughing at the surprised look on Louis face and watching for the moment he would realize he didn’t have enough time to duck.

Louis let out a pained gasp, though, and Liam’s laughter immediately died in his throat. He felt something like his stomach rolling when he saw the blood on Louis’ forehead just above his eye. Louis wiped the snow from his face, his mitten coming away red.

Liam was at his side in the next second, taking off his glove and pressing it into the cut. It kept welling up with blood, and Liam didn’t know what to do.

“Louis, are you okay? I’m so sorry, there must have been a rock in it, I didn’t notice, Lou, I’m so sorry. How are you feeling? Are you dizzy? Do you need to sit? Oh, god, did I give you a concussion? Who’s the mayor of London? Wait, I don’t think I know that either-” Liam rambled as he kept using his glove to blot away at the wound.

Louis’ hand shot up- thankfully the one not covered in his own blood- and pressed firmly against Liam’s mouth. “Shut up for a second.”

“Buf yer heth,” Liam mumbled against the mitten.

“My head is fine. Hurts something awful, but I’m not concussed you fool.”

Liam nodded his understanding and Louis let his hand drop. He led them back into the building and up the elevator to the room Louis was sharing with Harry. Liam followed him in and walked them to the kitchen sink, running the tap and grabbing a cloth. He backed Louis against the counter and wiped the cut down, rinsing the rag repeatedly until the bleeding had slowed. He grabbed a couple small plasters from the loo and peeled them onto Louis’ skin.

“Are you trying to make me the ugly one, Payno?” Louis asked, his eyes drifting shut as Liam applied the second one to his forehead.

“You could never be the ugly one, Lou. You know that.”

Louis opened his eyes at that and stared at Liam. Liam felt his face flush and he tried to force himself to maintain eye contact but he couldn’t, stepping back and looking around for something to focus on. He grabbed the flannel and stuck it with the wash, coming back into the kitchen to see Louis getting the kettle on.

“Want a cuppa?” Louis asked, turning to glance at Liam over his shoulder.

Whatever mood had been there when Louis had blinked open his eyes was gone, and Liam nodded a quick yes before moving into the living room. Louis followed him moments later with Liam’s tea- too bitter for his taste but he knew better than to ask Louis if he could get some sugar.

They watched telly for a bit before Louis nodded off, his body turned towards Liam and curled against the back of the couch. It didn’t look comfortable, so Liam eased his head onto the armrest and stretched his legs over Liam’s lap. Despite not feeling tired, Liam drifted off shortly after.

*~*

Liam was just shifting awake when he heard a faint whimper from Louis. He opened his eyes and saw the older boy with a hand to his head, his mouth shaped in an ‘o’.

“Does your head hurt, Lou? Should I call Paul? Do you want to go to A&E? What about-”

“Liam,” Louis croaked, “if you do not stop talking right now I’m going to shove my heel so hard into you junk you won’t be able to have children.”

Liam clamped his lips tightly shut while Louis rolled into a sitting position. He gripped Liam’s knee tightly for a second and gritted out, “Can you call my mum? I want to know if she thinks I should go to hospital.”

Liam nodded and reached for Louis’ phone on the coffee table. He pulled up his mum’s contact number and listened to it ring. Jay answered after only a couple rings and Liam felt completely unprepared.

“It’s um- it’s Liam,” he started. “Louis’ okay,” he added hastily. “But there’s been sort of a- um. Well there’s been an accident and he’s kind of hurt. But he’s okay.”

Jay was silent for a second. “He’s okay, but he’s been in an accident?” She asked.

“No, not like an _accident_ accident, more like-”

“ _Bloody hell_ , Liam,” Louis muttered before grabbing the phone from Liam’s hand. “Mum, I’m fine. Sorry, Payno’s obviously not good at making the calls.”

He was silent for a second, shooting a glare at Liam, who at least had the decency to look sheepish.

“Yeah, mum. I’m sorry, if I get in an actual accident I’ll make sure Liam isn’t the one to call. As I’m dying. I promise.”

Liam started to protest- it was his first 'your son is slightly injured and it may be my fault’ call, after all- but Louis shushed him again and he snapped his mouth shut.

“We were just messing about, mum. I got hurt a bit above my eye. I didn’t get dizzy or lose vision, but it bled a bit and I just woke up and it’s pounding something awful. I don’t think it’s serious enough for hospital, but what do you think?”

Louis was silent as Jay started talking. Liam could only hear the faintest sound of her answers, but she sounded calm and Louis didn’t look worried. He got up and made his way to the kitchen, filling the kettle back up and rifling through the cupboards, pulling out items to make sandwiches.

Louis came in as he was pouring the tea, his mug holding as much sugar as Liam wanted since he had found where Harry kept his stash hidden.

“She says I’ll be okay, and I took some paracetamol. Didn’t tell her you were the one who injured her only son, but I’m sure she knows. Cheers,” he said as he grabbed his mug.

Liam spared him the briefest of glares. “I’m also the one who took care of you, let you sleep on him, is making you lunch and brewed you some great tea. I’m a monster.”

Louis just smiled at him, a wide beam of a grin that crinkled his eyes and nose. Liam stared at that smile for a minute too long before turning back to the spread. He piled their plates with crisps and a half-sandwich each.

“I’ve properly corrupted you, Payno. Sarky comments and crisps for tea, then? Who knows, maybe next you’ll be buzzing off your curly hair and wearing socks with no shoes.”

“Maybe I could start corrupting you instead,” he offered. “You know, like waking up on time and knowing what personal space means. Like staying in when Paul says we have to instead of convincing Harry it’d be fun to wander around London in the middle of the night.”

“That’s _boring_ , Liam. I refuse to accept that you’re boring. No one throws a rock at my face and gets to be boring.”

Liam sputtered. “That was an _accident_ and you know it. I wouldn’t ever do that on purpose, not to you and not even to my very worst enemy,” he said, indignantly.

Louis sat back for a moment, his face fallen slightly. “I know, Li. I know you didn’t mean to. I’m sorry. My head just hurts and I’m a bit of a bitch when I’m poorly. You can go; I think I’m going to just have another lie down.”

They fell silent for a second, Louis steadfastly staring at his plate and Liam feeling confused six ways to Sunday. He hadn’t meant for Louis to think he would leave, but he couldn’t figure out why he wanted to stay.

Finally, their plates both cleared, he took one in each hand and went to the sink, setting them down to tend to later. It was awkward now, and Liam didn’t know how to fix it.

He was never so thankful for Louis before as when the older boy chirped, “a lie down does sounds good, right? Want to keep me company? I’ve got a feeling cuddles are the only thing that will fix me.”

Louis was looking at him when he turned around, his beaming smile back on his face. Liam grabbed him a glass of water for him to sip on as they made their way back into Louis’ room. Liam didn’t mention the mess on the floor or even grimace when Louis swept everything on the bed into a pile on the ground. He just curled in before Louis, tucking the sheet around them and pulling Louis into his chest, dropping the faintest of kisses to his eyebrow where the cut still was.

They fell asleep like that, Louis’ head pillowed on Liam’s shoulder, his cut side resting gently against Liam’s neck.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi: [tumblr](http://sa-voix.tumblr.com/)


End file.
